Happiness for Beginners

Jun 07, 2020

Katherine Center

511 responses.

Happiness for Beginners A year after getting divorced Helen Carpenter thirty two lets her annoying ten years younger brother talk her into signing up for a wilderness survival course It s supposed to be a chance for her

Title: Happiness for Beginners

Author: Katherine Center

ISBN: 9781250047304

Page: 331

Format: Paperback

A year after getting divorced, Helen Carpenter, thirty two, lets her annoying, ten years younger brother talk her into signing up for a wilderness survival course It s supposed to be a chance for her to pull herself together again, but when she discovers that her brother s even annoying best friend is also coming on the trip, she can t imagine how it will be anythingA year after getting divorced, Helen Carpenter, thirty two, lets her annoying, ten years younger brother talk her into signing up for a wilderness survival course It s supposed to be a chance for her to pull herself together again, but when she discovers that her brother s even annoying best friend is also coming on the trip, she can t imagine how it will be anything other than a disaster Thus begins the strangest adventure of Helen s well behaved life three weeks in the remotest wilderness of a mountain range in Wyoming where she will survive mosquito infestations, a surprise summer blizzard, and a group of sorority girls.Yet, despite everything, the vast wilderness has a way of making Helen s own little life seem bigger, too And, somehow the people who annoy her the most start teaching her the very things she needs to learn Like how to stand up for herself And how being scared can make you brave And how sometimes you just have to get really, really lost before you can even have a hope of being found.

About "Katherine Center"

Katherine Center

Katherine Center is the author of six novels about love and family, including The Bright Side of Disaster, The Lost Husband, Happiness for Beginners and the upcoming How to Walk Away Her work has appeared in Redbook, People, USA Today, Vanity Fair, InStyle, and Real Simple She is a graduate of Vassar College and the University of Houston s Creative Writing Program Katherine lives in Houston with her husband and two sweet children.

511 Comments

Omg! I had such a love/hate relationship with this book but I loved it so much more! I'm so glad I read it for one of my book groups or I might have missed it! I did get this through the library Overdrive but I have since put the paperback on my wishlist. Sometimes there are just those books that get to you. It might not be the whole book, it might be bits & pieces. It was just that for me. There were parts that got to me that I want to insert into my own life. Just little bits that I can p [...]

5 stars! “Don’t be a Helen.”Happiness for Beginners wasn’t just a story, it was a journey. This author will take you on a journey of epic proportions. It’s witty, fun, and fantastic. I wanted to amaze everybody, including myself. My own personal campaign of shock and awe.Helen Carpenter has just made the list as one of my favorite heroines ever. This thirty-two-year-old divorcee decides after a year of being alone, she needs an adventure. So she goes on the adventure of a lifetime. For [...]

Okay--Accidentally clicked on the rating area and wound up giving my own book 2 stars. So then I had to go back and give it FIVE. Of course! But now it looks like I'm going around reviewing my own books. Which I guess I am--but only by accident. I DO give it five stars, though!! :) My favorite of them all.

This was such an excellent and inspiring story and everything I was looking for in the previous travel books I’d bought but ended up not liking. This story was about overcoming your fears, being content with the person you are today, and finding happiness in little things. Add to that a stupidly cute romance with plenty of humour and a survival story in the middle of the mountains, and you’ve completely got me hooked.Helen was an extremely likeable protagonist. She wasn’t perfect in the sl [...]

4 starsI really liked this. I thought there was quite a few 5 star worthy face grinning moments. I felt like the adventure could have been more dangerous or life threatening than hiking. A few things at the end I was a bit let down by and maybe in another book I would have been annoyed by one or two things. But in the end I really wanted them together. Helen was awesome in a funny but bitchy kind of way. I really enjoyed it and it's one of those books I'll be happy to read again.

This book completely owned me. I picked it up to read one chapter before bed to see if I was into it and it's less than 24 hours later and I cannot wipe the grin off my face. This is definitely a new top favorite!Helen is 32, has been divorced for a year, and decides it's time to get her life back. The night before leaving for a three week wilderness adventure she runs into her brother's best friend, Jake. She finds out he is also going on the same trip and he ends up weasling a ride with her. H [...]

4 STARSGenre: Romance – age difference, adventureCover: 8/10 Writing: 8/10Heroine: 7/10Hero: 9/10Humour: 2/10Hotness: 1/10Romance: 6/10Extra book Details: Heroine POV; 1st person. Stand-alone. Happiness is for Beginners was a nice change of pace for me. It's not solely based on the romance, I'd say, 50/50; 50% romance, 50% about the heroine finding herself.Our heroine is a divorced 32 year old first-grade school teacher. After a year of wallowing after the breakdown of her marriage, she decide [...]

5 glowing, laughing,crying, wonderful, all-time-favourite starsI loved, LOVED, loved this book so much! I had to create a new shelf for it: all-time-favourite!I laughed A LOTen I cryed a bit and then I laughed while I was crying. I learned to look at things a different, better way. And while I did I had the greatest time ever.In the beginning I thought, this book is kinda funny, then I thought it is really good, then I thought it is amazing and when I thought it can't get any better it did.Did [...]

5 + “Don’t be a Helen” STARSFUNNY * ANGSTY * BUTTERFLY INDUCING * FAB CHARACTERS * JOURNEY BOOK *Straight to my Favorite Shelf this novel goes with a bullet! The price tag had me hesitant because let’s face it anything over five dollars has me nervous and skeptical to try. Somewhere along the way I became so invested in the characters that nothing could stop me from fully immersing myself in this book. The heroine is Helen Carpenter. She's a thirty-two years old bitchy-ish big sister and [...]

I'm a pile of mushy goo, right now. I need to review this book because it is one of the best I've read. Pure reading bliss!"To get stronger and toughen up. To care less. To rise up from the ashes of my existence like a really badass phoenix and give life the finger, at last."The best way for me to compare my feelings on this gem of a book is: think of being in the woods and breathing in the crispiest breath of fresh air. Take it in, and send it back out. I felt that, I felt the freshness of the [...]

SUCH a feel-good, uplifting story. Happiness for Beginners had all the elements of chic lit story but went more in depth with the characters so that it read more like fiction.We met Helen Carpenter a year after her divorce as she was about a embark on a soul searching trip of self-discovery. Why Helen chose to go on a dangerous wilderness tour I will never understand, but then I’ve never been what you would call an “outdoors-y” type. (I am giggling as I wrote that last sentence because any [...]

I wanted to read this novel because its oft-used plot--a person who's been through a difficult experience decides to go on an Outward-Boundish trip as a form of renewal--has always appealed to me. I knew it was going to be some light reading, and that's what I was in the mood for at the time. What I didn't quite expect was just how predictable this book was going to be. Everything about it was so obvious--when the main character mentioned that she kept a list of all her goals tucked inside her b [...]

Perfect light-hearted, laugh-out-loud novel after reading some heavy and serious ones. It also has some deep moments, great plot, and character development. Loved Helen and rooted for her as she tried to put her life back together. Highly recommended to fans of Sophie Kinsella. I need to look for Katherine's other books!

What a great book! Happiness for Beginners is the story about Helen, a thirty-something who decides to go on a 3 week hike in the woods to find herself after a really bad year. It was funny, sweet, inspiring and even a little emotional- at least for me. There were a few times that I really related with Helen and was moved to tears. This was such a refreshing read. I found it hard to put down and it kept me up late to finish. I could definitely see myself reading this again.

Posted on Life Between ReadsThe best books are the ones that completely exceed your expectations. You know, the ones where you have an opinion or assumption formed before you even read the first page, only to have those opinions or assumptions completely blown out of the water? That’s what happened to me with Happiness for Beginners.Ehhh, looks like a Wild knockoff, my pessimistic self said as I requested it on NetGalley. But you liked Wild, so you might like this one, too. Plus it’s almost [...]

I simple loved this book. It was like a warm cup of tea with a cookie on the side for good measure. Comforting, sweet, a little bitter. Perfection. I could not put it down (literally, I read it in one sitting!). My mood is lifted, my heart light. Beautiful written, great characters. Charming!

The audio performance was wonderful and funny. Ms. Gavin did an excellent job with both female and male voices.I thought the story was cute and funny, but I wished Helen and Jake weren't (view spoiler)[at odds for most of the book even though it was clear they were meant to be together. I also could've done without the whole Windy distraction/plot, altogether. Miscommunication, assumption and withholding of information made this romance land on the frustrating side for me. I like my romances to [...]

“The things we remember are what we hold on to. And what we hold on to becomes the story of our lives.”I don't even know how to express my feelings about this book. I do know that I really adored this book! And honestly, I didn't even realize how much I NEEDED to read this book until I did. It's so well written, inspiring, full of heart, beautiful and memorable. P.S. I adored Beckett and Duncan. If you've read this book already, you'll probably laugh at me. But I did! :D

Oh. Oh, WOW! I loved this book. I loved the whole experience of reading it -- the feel of the *gasp* paperback in my hands, the late night, just-one-more-chapter atmosphere, and the story. What a great story. After a hellish year -- six years, actually -- Helen Carpenter decides she needs to do something for herself. Something to improve her outlook on life, something to kick start the new Helen. And that something is a three week survival course in Wyoming. Just Helen, glorious nature, a freak [...]

5 Feel-Good Book Stars My three good things of the day: 1) reading Happiness for Beginners 2) Jake 3) Helen.“And I gave you Jake because you absolutely never believe in yourself – and he finds a way to believe in you every damn day.”Let me say I love a good love story but I honestly could do without all the sex most of the books I read have (crazy, right?!). As long as I get a “look” here and a “touch” there and “moment” over yonder, I’m a happy camper. There’s just somethi [...]

I’ve read and enjoyed a few of Center’s books over the years, so I always keep an eye out for her latest books. This one opens up engagingly with Helen Carpenter, heading to a three-week wilderness survival experience to kickstart her life after her divorce a year earlier. But from the start, her carefully laid plans begin to fall apart. Her younger brother proves himself too irresponsible to care for her dog and on top of this, her brother’s best friend and roommate begs a ride along with [...]

If you were to write a fun, engaging book just for me, this might be it. I just loved it. I could totally relate to Helen-with-an-H and saw a lot of myself in her. The story was fun and easy to get into. It had a gentle mix of positive psychology, a hefty dose of wilderness-as-healer, a nice helping of romance, well drawn-out charactersd writing that I really connected to. I smiled and felt totally satisfied when it ended. What more can a girl ask for?One of my favorite passages from the book:"f [...]

Great book, great writing, intelligent characters but certainly (especially the heroine) not without flaws. But her self introspection worked for me and in the end I think she totally realized what was important in life and what wasn't.Just a few gripes (my personal preferences): I would have liked a little more story about the actual day to day wilderness experiences and I wanted an epilogue about 100 pages longer. I loved Jake and wanted to know a lot more about what happens to him down the ro [...]

Reread July 2016. If I could give this more than 5 stars, I would. I think this is one of those books that I will reread once a year. It just makes me so HAPPY.Original review below:All. The. Stars. All. The. Feels.I fell in love with this book. Happiness for Beginners is the perfect combination of romance, humor, and finding yourself. Helen is HILARIOUS and so relatable. And Jake. Move over, top book boyfriend, Jake has taken your spot.After reading it, I went out and bought every single book t [...]

I am officially a fan of Ms. Center's writings. The best part of the Giveaway process is that sometimes you discover "new to you" writers and that is what happened many moons ago when I first joined GR. At that time I was mush less picky and entered a ton of GR Giveways just to enter them and as luck would have it I happened to win one of Ms. Center's earlier books and really enjoyed it. Since that time I have read nearly all of her books and while they are not earth shattering by any means the [...]